


shovel talks

by ibtp



Series: don't need to say i love you to say i love you [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Shovel Talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-07-11 13:56:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19929169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibtp/pseuds/ibtp
Summary: Five times Will gets a shovel talk, and one time Nico gets one.





	1. Hazel

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! First off, thanks so much for reading! If you like it remember to give kudos!  
>   
> You don't have to read the first fic in the series to understand this one, but as it is part of the series, it would be best to start with the first one, which is pre-relationship Solangelo.  
>   
> Also, this fic will probably be shorter than the last. I really liked this idea, but school is starting soon, and I also have a third fic in this series in the works, which will be longer.

Will remembered, too late, that Hazel was staying in the Hades Cabin. 

The Romans were in camp for two weeks or so, for "yay we didn't die" celebrations (the name being a combination of the efforts of Leo, Percy, and Piper). Hazel had come too, and she was currently staying in the Hades cabin, a fact that Will knew but only remembered when she opened the door to the Hades Cabin, eyes slightly misty from sleep, and glared at him. 

"Who's- Oh, it's you Will. Sorry, I thought you were one of the other centurions, you know, coming to ask about some stupid thing. One of them came by earlier to ask for _shaving cream_ , as if _I_ would have any. Anyways, if you're looking for Nico, he's asleep." She smiled at him in a slightly menacing manner, one that he never would have imagined Hazel, of all people, having. Clearly, she was spending a lot of time with well, any of the seven. Probably Reyna. Reyna was a bit scary, when she glared at you while squeezing the life (hugging, they called it) out your boyfriend. He felt himself smile a little at the word. _Boyfriend_.   
Suddenly, he remembered that he was still standing in front of Hazel, and that he probably hadn't said anything for an awkward amount of time, and that Hazel probably thought that he was really weird. He tried to school his expression into one of nonchalance that would imply that he was definitely a very, very normal person.  
  
"Yeah, I wanted to see if Nico was awake, but since he's asleep, it's fine. Honestly," he admitted sheepishly, hand rubbing the back of his neck, "I forgot that you were here, otherwise, I wouldn't have come to bother you. Sorry about waking you up, by the way. I guess I should go now." He gave her another sheepish smile, and waved, turning to leave the cabin and his embarrassment behind. 

"Will, wait!" He turned around in surprise. "Can you talk a walk with me?" Her tone brooked no contradiction, and he had an idea about what would make Hazel use it. He wasn't a complete idiot, after all, no matter how much Lou liked to say. Their previous topic of Nico was a major indication. That, and the fact that she'd materialized a shovel out of what seemed like thin air.  
"Alright, sure." he replied. It wasn't like he was doing anything, not that he had much of a choice . 

A walk, apparently, meant blatantly bypassing the harpies using the mist. Will had to admit that he was impressed, despite spending so much time with Lou Ellen, who's own talent with the mist was nothing to sneeze at. He briefly wondered where they were going, but soon realized that she was heading towards the lake.   
_Ah yes, the lake,_ he thought wryly to himself, _best place for swimming, canoeing, and dumping dead bodies._ Not that Hazel would try to murder him. Probably. You never knew, with the nice ones. 

"So, Will," she started, "I think you know why I've brought you here today." He gave a vague movement of assent. He didn't think he was ready for this. 

"I read this book, the other day," he blinked in surprise at the complete 180 of subject, "it was talking about relationships, and how to be more accepting of them, even if they don't fit the traditional mold. Honestly, ever since I've come back, I've been a little shocked at the openness of the way people display their relationships. Not just for queer people, but a bit for everyone. Frank really helped with that bit, even though he probably doesn't even know it. It's nice that he was willing to take things slow, in a way that probably seems a bit ridiculous to everyone else. But anyway, what I meant to say is, I'm glad that Nico has someone like you in his life. I think that it's awfully sweet, how you're willing to go slow for him too, and from what I can see, you're a nice boy. I just wanted to say I fully support your relationship with my brother, and that I hope you guys are happy."  
Hazel finished everything, pausing slightly to catch her breath before giving him a soft smile. He smiled back at her, feeling a mixture of pleasantly surprised and relieved. 

"Thank you," he said after a moment, "it means a lot to me, that you're supportive of our relationship. I know you mean a lot to Nico, and I'm so relieved that you approve. Honestly, I was a little bit nervous, how all of you would take it. Nico is so amazing and strong, and he's so beautiful and _perfect_ , and I guess I'm just... well, me. I wasn't sure how everyone was going to take it, and it really means a lot to me that you approve. So I guess, I just want to say thanks."   
They lapsed into silence again, just looking at the dark, vast expanse of water. It looked like a mirror, reflecting the glittering stars and the brilliant moon, high up in the sky, unreachable and glowing. The moon had always reminded him of Nico, even now that they were dating. Beautiful, understated, underappreciated, and untouchable. Out of his league. 

They'd only started dating recently, about a week ago, but he was already worrying, feeling unworthy of Nico. Hazel's approval meant more than she thought it did. 

"Don't put yourself down like that, Will. I'll admit, I probably don't know you as well as I should, but I can already tell that you're not a bad person. And I look forward to knowing you better in the future." She patted his shoulder comfortingly. "I really do think you'll be good for Nico. He smiles a lot more around you, and he looks at you like you hung the stars or something. But just remember, if you hurt him, I can do more than just manipulate the mist. Goodnight, Will." She gave him a last smile before walking out into the darkness, leaving him behind.

 _Well,_ he smiled a little into the darkness, _that didn't go too badly. I just hope the next one isn't worse_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! As always, kudos and comments especially are appreciated!


	2. Percy

Will, of course, had known that Hazel would not be the last one. Nico had a lot of overprotective friends, naturally, a byproduct of saving the world with a bunch of very intense people, and Will had expected more than one very thorough stern talking-to, but out of everyone, he had not expected Percy. 

He'd known Percy since he was eleven, when the other boy had first come to camp. First, as the prophesied son of Poseidon, then as the questing wonder, the hero. At the Battle of Manhattan, he was _the_ hero. That was what Percy was. A hero. And of course, Nico's last crush. 

He could kind of see why so many people liked Percy. He was a true hero, nice to everyone, if a bit caught in his own world, which was understandable. He was physically fit too, and he really did have nice eyes, even if Nico's were better in Will's admittedly biased opinion. And his whole "savior of the world" thing was definitely a plus. Still, Will had seen his fair share of attractive males and heroes, and nobody came close to Nico. But again, he was a bit biased. Only a bit. 

It was bit hard, sometimes, not to compare himself to Percy. As he'd said, Percy was a hero, and Will was... well, he found it doubtful that anyone could ever call _him_ a hero. 

But that was besides the point. "Hey, Percy." He tried for his trademark easy-going smile, as familiar to him as the blue of his eyes and the blond of his hair after years of pasting it on, even when he didn't want to. "What's up?" 

"Hey Will," Percy looked bright as ever, "nothing much. You and Nico are dating, right?" 

_Wow,_ Will thought, _cutting straight to the point. To be fair, I doubt he knows how to be subtle._

"Uh," Will's reply came out sounding like a question, "yes?" 

"Really? 'Cause that didn't sound too sure to me." It was meant as a joke, Will told himself, or maybe he'd heard it wrong. Still, somehow, he thought it sounded like a threat.

"Um, well, I'm reasonably sure, yes. I mean, it's only been a week, but, yes, we are." 

"Great. Actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Nico." 

"Yes?" Will answered cautiously, unsure of what was to come. 

"You know I was the one to find him, right? I care about him, more than he thinks I do. I made a mess of things before, but I really do care about him." Percy sighed, before leveling a steely gaze on to Will, "Look Will, let me be honest with you. I care about Nico, and I don't want to see him get hurt. I can't really say that I know you extremely well, not as much as I should, and you seem like a decent guy. But I've known of a lot of people that seemed like decent guys, and weren't." 

He paused for a moment. Will knew who he was referring to. 

"If you hurt Nico, I'm not going to have mercy on you. And I won't be the only one." 

He paused again. There seemed to be a lot of pausing, so far, as if they didn't quite know what to say, even when they did. Percy's gaze softened a little.

"I don't think you're a bad guy, Will. Nico's just been hurt a lot before, and he deserves everything." He sounded like he wasn't only talking about Nico, either. 

Will could understand. He knew a lot of people, wary because of their pasts, and out of everyone, it made sense for Percy to be wary.

"Yeah," Will managed to say, "yeah. He does." He didn't know what else to say. 

Percy smiled then, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Great. Well, see you around, Will."

"Yeah, uh, bye, Percy." 

"Who was that?" Nico, running across the field to join him, asked. 

"Hm? Oh, that was just Percy."

"Percy? What did he want?" 

"Oh, nothing. Just talking about stuff." 

Maybe it was just a tad evasive, because Nico scowled at the son of Poseidon's retreating figure and asked, "He wasn't threatening you or anything right?"

Will smiled, a genuine one, for once. "Don't worry about it, Neeks."

Nico didn't stop frowning, but Will could see the corner of his mouth twitch up into a tiny smile at the nickname. "Fine, but if anyone does, just tell me to tell them to stop, okay? Because some of them would actually be stupid enough to do it. Like Percy. Or Jason." 

"Don't worry about it, Neeks. Anyways, it wouldn't be anything that I couldn't handle. Don't you know that I'm secretly really buff?" 

Nico snorted, "Yeah, right. As if that'd do anything against a son of the god of water and a son of the god of lightning." 

"Yeah, yeah, don't need to rub it in, Death Boy. Have you even had breakfast, anyway?" 

"Not yet, but as you know, there's been a recent, unexplained, influx of skeletons when I have to eat alone. Come with me?" 

Will had a surge of dizzying fondness as he looked at Nico's sparkling eyes and bright grin, at his still pale but much healthier skin and more filled out body. He'd come so far, from the withdrawn, sallow, thin boy that he was, and Will found himself smiling brighter than he ever had before (or so he felt).

"Well, we wouldn't want more skeletons, do we?"

He took his boyfriend's hand in his, and they set off, together.


	3. Jason

Jason Grace was tall, blond, and had blue eyes. 

It was funny, how different he looked from Will, despite having the same key features. 

Jason looked down and frowned at him through his glasses. He was even taller than Will, scarily (Will was used to being the tallest person in the room, so to speak). He felt unused to having to look up when talking to someone. 

"Will Solace?" He asked uncertainly, as if he didn't know who Will was. He supposed that it was entirely possible. There wasn't much reason for Jason to know Will, after all, unless it was as Someone Piper Knows. Or as Nico's Likely Unreliable Boyfriend (it's what Piper calls him, when he told her about the two previous talks). Even if they'd talked sometimes, during the time between the first quest Jason had been on, it wasn't like Will expected him to remember.

"That's me. Of course, you're Jason Grace." 

Jason seemed to be relieved. "Sorry, I wasn't too sure if it was you. Lou hit me with a spell like, two minutes ago, and my vision's kinda blurry. She swears it's going to wear off in like, three hours, and that it should be alright if I wear my glasses. I mean, I can kind of see things, but I wasn't sure. Anyways, she said that it should be fine for me to do whatever, though, so I decided, might as well not delay my plans because of a small inconvenience, right?”

Will nodded, pretending to understand the feeling, when in actuality, he was a procrastinator that preferred to put things to the last minute, as long as he could. 

"Oh. That's, uh, unfortunate. So, uh, why where you looking for me, again?" It was a formality, more than anything, because they both knew the reason. Personally, if Will had been Jason, he wouldn't have chosen a moment when he had been hit by one of Lou's spells to give a shovel talk. Maybe it was just an excuse to frown at him. 

"Oh, right, that. Actually, I came to talk with you. About, well, you know, things. Life. The weather. Your boyfriend. You know, Nico." 

_A+ for effort,_ Will suppressed a laugh, _at least he tried. Better than Percy, but not by much._

"Right. Sure. Uh, do you want to walk around?" The latter was added more for Jason's benefit than Will's, since he looked extremely awkward just standing there, his eyes shifting warily to peer at other campers walking around, as if unsure that they were campers and not monsters taking advantage of his inability to see clearly. 

"Sure," Jason replied, relieved. 

They starting walking in direction of the strawberry fields, tense and awkward silence following them as they went. 

"So," Will started, tentatively, "uh, what's the whole, well, uh, Nico, you know, thing?" 

"Oh. Thought I'd give you some time to prepare yourself," Jason replied drily, a wry smile on his face, which only made his lip scar all the more prominent.

"Hmm." Will lets out a noise of agreement. He'd never thought that Jason Grace, the golden boy, would have such dry humor. 

"So, how's it been going with you and Nico?" 

"Uh," Will didn't really know what to answer, "it's going pretty good, I think. I mean, Nico's really amazing and pretty and-" He cut himself off, finishing lamely, "And well, you know." 

"Hmm. I totally get what you mean. I mean, I feel the same way about Piper. She's great. Look, Will, I know that you probably won't hurt Nico, but Nico's been through a lot, what with his whole being born in the 40s thing, and the whole Cupid debacle. He just hasn't had the best luck with love."

Will didn't need Jason to tell him that, but he was sure that Nico would appreciate the effort all the same.

"And maybe I'm not the best person to be telling you all of this, but I care about Nico, and I don't want to see him get hurt. If you decide to break Nico's heart, or even just hurt him a little, know that I _will_ hunt down and that I _will_ make you suffer ten times more than you made him suffer. So, just don't." 

Will nodded, silent. 

Jason beamed. "Great! Glad we we understand each other. See you later, Will." 

He waved, and Will waved back, dazed. 

When he finally regained his spirits, he realized he was late for his shift at the infirmary, the shift that Nico said he'd pop by in, and hurried.

He definitely did not want to be late. 


	4. Reyna

On a good day, when she wasn't actively trying to, Reyna was scary.

On a worse day, when she was squeezing the life out of your boyfriend while glaring at you, she was frightening. 

On an even worse day, when she walked straight up to you, slammed a finger on your extremely weak chest, and declared, "We need to talk," she was straight up terrifying. 

"Alright," Will managed to squeak out.

"Good," was Reyna's reply, before she stalked off, assuming that Will would follow her immediately. He did, for obvious reasons.

Will didn't even attempt to do small talk, or defuse the situation before it ended with one of his limbs chopped off. He had the feeling that it would only hurry this process, and he was not very keen to take his chances. 

They walked for a little, until Reyna stopped abruptly to face Will again. 

"I'm going to absolutely honest with you, William."

"Will," he corrected. Some might have said that he had a death wish, interrupting Reyna like that, but he didn't think he could bear having anyone call him William. The only person who'd ever called him that was his mother. 

Reyna glared at him, "I don't trust you." 

_Honesty is the best policy_. 

"It's not that I have anything against _you_ , specifically, but I don't trust you. I don't think you deserve Nico. Though, frankly, I don't think anyone deserves Nico."

Will wanted to laugh and tell her that he didn't, but suspected she wouldn't take very kindly to it. It would end the conversation quickly, which was what he wanted. Her method of ending it, though, was probably hitting him on the head, which was not the way he wanted. 

Instead, he said, "Trust me, I know. I don't think that I'm worthy of him either, but I'm trying. And I really, really like him. And someday, even love him. And I hope, even if you don't approve, you'll at least try to accept it. Only for Nico, if not for anyone else." 

He finished everything with a deep intake of breath, looking nervously at Reyna, hoping she wasn't going to kill him on the spot. 

"Humph," she looked at him, with what seemed like the slightest bit of dawning respect, "it seemed like you _do_ have a spine, after all. Well, I suppose, like you said, I'll try, for Nico. But don't think I won't hesitate to crush you under my heel if you do the same to his heart."

Spinning around, she left, without saying goodbye. 

Will breathed a sigh of relief. It hadn't gone as well as he would have liked it, but he wasn't dead. 

He supposed he should count that as a win.

He tried to ignore the feelings of inadequacy that the conversation with Reyna brought up as he walked back to Apollo Cabin. 

Mid-route, he was interrupted by a breathless Nico, who stood in front of him with a red flush on his face.

"Hey," he greeted, still panting slightly. 

"Hey," Will replied, amusement coloring his voice. Nico shot him a mild glare. 

"Did Reyna come and talk to you yet?"

Will nodded. Nico's annoyance faded into worry.

"She didn't like, hit you or anything right? Jason told me that she was going to give you a, er, shovel talk? And that, apparently, it involves threats?"

"Yeah," Will replied, but backtracked when he saw Nico's worry exacerbating, "I mean, yeah, she gave me a shovel talk. No, she didn't physically attack me. You know you don't have to worry about me, right?" 

"Well, I'd be a bad boyfriend if I didn't _ever_ worry," Nico looking relieved, replied drily, "but yeah, I know you can defend yourself perfectly well. I was just worried because, you know, well. Reyna can be, uh, kind of, intense, sometimes, and I-"

He was interrupted by Will planting his lips on his, kissing him softly. 

"Thanks for coming to check up on me. Even though I carry ambrosia on me at all times, basically." 

"N-no problem," Nico stuttered out, much to Will's amusement, "um, can I- can we do that again?" 

Will's answer was another kiss. 


	5. Naomi

Will fell asleep in the infirmary.

It was a bad habit of his, one that he'd fallen into after the First War. This time, it wasn't because of some exhausting, life-and-death situation, at least. Well, actually, now that he thought about it, it kind of was. The final hurrah before the Romans left, Capture the Flag, Greeks against Romans, was just that destructive. As head medic, Will was the one that everyone was looking for: to heal a particularly nasty injury, to stitch up a nasty gash, to ask where the supplies were, for the roman medics, and just overall, for anything. 

It was exhausting, and he'd finally let himself rest, after making multiple rounds and long after he'd forced Nico to go to sleep. Just because he couldn't didn't mean his boyfriend should sacrifice his own sleep. 

Finally, he slumped his shoulders, resting his head on his arms, and promptly fell asleep. 

He should have known that he wouldn't get any proper rest. 

It was dark, and Will could barely discern two figures, sitting in the distance, at a ebony black table. There was light there, and Will walked towards it. Cautiously, because even if he wasn't a good fighter and didn't have any weapons, at least he wasn't going to run to the danger like an idiot. As he got closer, the setting got clearer, and he could see that the two figures were sitting in a garden, and that there was actually three figures, two of them bickering while the other one looked on in bemusement. There was something odd about garden though; it was almost papery in appearance, and though the plants didn't look dead, they didn't seem alive, either. The colors were strange too. He could see them, but they were faded, stained white. 

The only thing that seemed to have actual color were the pomegranates, and Will realized where he was. 

_Shit._ Wow, ever since he'd started dating Nico, he cursed more. 

Cautiously, though with less fear, he approached the table. He'd guessed correctly; the two bickering figures were Hades and Persephone, who looked remarkably more alive than her husband. The third figure, though... Wait...

"Mom?" 

"William, honey, you're finally here!" 

Naomi Solace was just as he remembered her. Tall, dirty blond, warm smile, scuffed clothes. People tended to assume that he'd gotten everything, from his looks to his personality, from Apollo, when actually, he had mostly inherited everything from his mother. He had her looks (blond locks, blue eyes, freckles, wide smile) and her personality (sunny, cheerful, warm). The only thing that was really from Apollo was his healing talent. 

He gaped at her in amazement. "What are you doing here?" 

"Hades got me here, honey. I heard that you got yourself a boyfriend? I can't believe it, my little William, all grown up!" She laughed as he blushed, and held her arms open for an embrace. He obliged, hugging her tightly, years of regret and wishing and missing her seeping away slowly, as he held on for dear life. 

"Mom," he whispered quietly, "you're really here." 

"Oh, honey. Of course I am." They stayed like that for a little while, before he broke away and stared at Hades. 

"So what is-Why did he-What-Why now?" he finishes helplessly, gaping slightly. His mother laughed.

"Actually, young man, I recently learned that you started dating my son, Nico di Angelo. I have been making efforts, recently, to, ah, make up to my son. This is one of my efforts to ensure my son's well-being. You should know that it took a lot of effort, bringing Naomi Solace here." Somehow, he managed to look deeply uncomfortable and incredibly threatening at the same time. Persephone glared at her husband and rolled her eyes. Maybe it was a gods thing, managing to do two contradictory actions simultaneously. 

Will wanted to say _Bullshit_ , but he wasn't actually sure it was. He wasn't too familiar with Nico's current relationship with his father, except that Nico was technically "Pluto's Ambassador" and that Hades had preferred Bianca. Will knew a lot about Nico, including some of his more traumatic moments, but Hades had always seemed to be a forbidden topic, like something that Nico wasn't even too sure about himself, and Will didn't want to push too hard. 

"What my husband means, son of Apollo, is that he is offering a once in a lifetime opportunity, a dream with your mother for you two to talk...specifically about your relationship with Nico di Angelo." She shot a look at Hades, as if daring him to contradict her. He grumbled, "You've always had a fondness for children who had their mothers taken away from them at a young age." but said nothing else. 

Persephone swatted at him, and added, "We'll be leaving now. So you can spend some time with your mother." She waved, and the both of them disappeared, though he heard the remnants of a "How much longer can you stay?" floating in the air after they had left. 

He turned towards his mother, still not quite believing his eyes. "Mom... I can't believe it. It's been so long. I-I missed you. So much."

"Come here, sweetie." Feeling remarkably like a kid again, he pulled up the chair Persephone was sitting on. He couldn't tear his eyes away from here, as if in a reverse Orpheus-type thing, she would disappear if he stopped looking at her. 

"I can't believe I missed so much. You're all grown up now. Such a nice young man. You're not itty-bitty Willie anymore, are you?" It was her childhood nickname for him, one that she'd stopped using once he reached six at his request. It was hard to believe that he had the opportunity to hear her say it again. They were both misty-eyed now, and Will wiped away at his eyes to stop himself from crying. "I'm so sorry I couldn't watch you grow up, sweetheart." 

Will hugged her close again, and muttered into her shoulder, "It's not your fault. They said the cancer was terminal."

His mother sighed, "Still, sweetheart, I'm sorry I missed everything. All your greatest moments. Your first kiss. Your first _boyfriend_." Her tone was teasing, that mix of annoying and motherly pride that Will used to hate, before he realized that he'd never hear it again. 

"Ma!" He drawled it out in pretend annoyance, but they both knew that it wasn't real. His mother had always been good at diffusing a situation, of brightening the mood with just a few words. It was one of the things he missed most about her, actually. How she could effortlessly lift his spirits with her encouragement. He tried to be like her, though he wasn't sure how much he succeeded. 

"Really, Will, I can't believe you've already gotten your first boyfriend! Well, I can't meet him, but tell me all about him. And I mean _everything_." 

"Ma!" he groaned again, but found himself talking before he really realized, "His name is Nico. And well, you know he's a son of Hades. He's been through a lot, and he's really strong, even though he doesn't think so. He puts himself down a lot, even though he's like, basically the most incredible person I've ever met. He was born in the 40s, actually, but he's really well integrated, you know, up to date on stuff. He even kind of knows what memes are!" He laughed at that, and continued, "He's really pretty. Like seriously beautiful. Like, kind of like a statue, but warm. His hair is so soft too. He even smells nice! Like pomegranates and crushed mint. Like, it's so unfair! He's so perfect!" 

It was easy, talking about Nico. He told his mother everything, even finding himself spilling his insecurities about not being good enough for Nico, to their late night conversations, to Nico's (more than) slightly overprotective friends, to the way he had a small, almost unnoticeable dimple on his left cheek, how there was a small part of his hair that never fell quite flat, and once Nico opened up, he'd found friends at Camp, how his smile could light up the room (as if he was the son of Apollo instead of Will). Throughout everything, Naomi gave him that same smile she'd given him when he was a kid, rambling about his most recent medical discovery. It was patient and fond and loving, but now that Will really looked at it, he could see that it was a bit sad, too. 

Regretful would be the proper term. 

"He sounds lovely, sweetheart. I'm sure I don't need to tell you to treat him properly, like Hades wanted me to?" Her eyes glinted mischievously, and he felt his lips stretch into a wide, still slightly watery smile, too.

"As for not feeling good enough, he's lucky to have you. You've grown so nicely, William. I'm so proud of you." 

"Ma!" He was crying openly though, and she was sniffling a little too, but reached to wipe his tears. The gesture was so motherly, made him feel so much like he was a child again, before everything, before the demigods and the monsters and all of those deaths and lives he couldn't save, that he started crying harder. 

"Oh, sweetheart. You've suffered so much and I wasn't there to help. I couldn't be there. I'm sorry. But I'm so, so proud of you, William. I'm so, so proud of you. Forever and always."

"It's okay mom. It's okay. You're here now." 

More hugging and sniffling and just a teensy bit more crying. 

"I can't believe I almost didn't take Hades up on his offer. I almost missed this." When she said it, it sounded more like she was talking to herself than to him.

He felt his heart vacillate slightly. "What?" 

"Oh," she said, as if she hadn't thought he would hear her. "When Hades asked, I almost said no. I didn't want you to have to go through the pain of losing me again. But I can't believe-If I hadn't-If I hadn't accepted-" She shuddered a little. "I almost didn't get to see you. To tell you how much I still love you. How I'm so proud of you." 

Her body was starting to fade slightly, blurry at the edges. He was starting to hear Kayla's and Austin's voices too. He was starting to wake up. It was too soon. He hadn't- He wasn't ready to lose his mother again, after so little time. 

"I love you, Will. Always remember that. I'm so proud of you." 

"I love you too, Mom." He was shouting desperately, worried that she would slip through his fingers before he had the chance. 

"I know, sweetie. I know. Goodbye, William." 

He was clinging on to the remnants of his dream, desperately trying to avoid waking up, but his efforts were in vain. 

When he woke, he blinked many times, disoriented, trying to adjust to the bright light after the shadows of his dream. 

His sweater, the one he'd fallen asleep in, was stained from his crying. When he closed his eyes, he could still see her fond, regretful smile imprinted on the back of his eyelids. There was tear tracks on his face, and he closed his eyes desperately to stop more tears from leaking out. 

He whispered, low so that no one else could hear,

"Bye, Mom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone wondering, Persephone was actually there even though it's summer because she thinks her husband is emotionally constipated.


	6. +1:Nico

Nico had promised Will he was going to come by on his shift today, and there was no way in Hades he was going to break his promise, even if it meant cutting his sword training session short, and not showering beforehand.

He was a bit sweaty, and he felt his shirt cling to his body. Maybe he should have gone for the shower. Will never seemed to really mind, though, so he supposed there was no real harm. 

The infirmary was mostly empty. Since the injuries sustained by both parties during Capture the Flag: Greeks vs. Romans edition, no camper seemed in a hurry to get injuries even more. Probably, they were afraid of being berated by Will, who seemed to be in a foul mood since that night. Nico suspected there was more to it than simply having to heal so many campers, but since Will hadn't told Nico why yet, he would respect his boyfriend's wishes and not brusque him. Will would tell him when he was ready. Meanwhile, Nico could be there for him, and that was why he was in such a hurry not to miss Will's shift. 

As he walked in, he couldn't find Will anywhere, so he poked around in unoccupied rooms, trying to find him. 

He'd been unsuccessful for about five minutes now, when he opened the healer's room to find Kayla, Austin, Lou Ellen, and Cecil sitting, as if waiting for someone. 

"Oh, hey, do you guys know where Will is?" 

"You shouldn't be worrying about Will. Worry about yourself instead. We've been waiting for you...." Cecil gave what Nico assumed was supposed to be a cackle, but sounded more like a strangled cat.

"Uh," Nico was considering backing away from whatever this was. He'd heard that Cecil had joined some weird improv class or something. Was this it? "Are you okay?"

"Cecil, shut up!" Lou Ellen, sitting closest to him, smacked his arm, "Anyway, it's not like he'd get it. He doesn't know pop culture, remember?"

"Oh, right. Sorry, Nico," Cecil said, not looking sorry at all. 

"Anyways," Lou Ellen continued, rolling her eyes, "what he meant to say, was, Nico, we were waiting to talk to you."

"Oh, really? I just need to find Will first. Do any of you know where he is?" For some odd reason, Nico's instincts were telling him that he didn't want to have this conversation. He liked Lou and Cecil and all (well, most) of Will's siblings, he did, but this whole thing made him feel apprehensive. Was this some kind of weird ritual that teenagers in the 21rst century had? Will had been helping him get all of these new references, or whatever, but there were still some things Nico didn't get. 

"He's sleeping. He's been sleeping badly this entire week, so you should probably leave him be." Austin was the one to reply, giving them all pointed looks.

"Oh, alright. Um, so, what did you want to talk to me about?" His shoes scuffed the floor in nervosity.

"Well, I don't know if you're aware of this, but there's this thing called 'shovel talks' that us in the 21rst century like to give. It's when you 'explicitly threaten the significant other of a close friend or family' according to this book I read. I don't suppose you know what it is though, old man." Kayla shrugged, grinning slightly. 

"I know what those are," Nico muttered. He'd been secretly pleased that she'd given him a nickname, but it was still annoying.

"Sure you do," she replied, voice laden heavily with sarcasm, "old man. Anyway, this is a shovel talk! So get comfortable, or actually don't, and get prepared to be threatened." Nico thought her voice was much too cheerful for someone making threats. 

Lou Ellen rolled her eyes again. "Oh my gods, guys, we're literally going to get nothing done and just waste all of our time, _again_. Can we just get on with it? I have things to do."

Kayla snickered, "Things? You mean Cecil?"

Both Lou and Cecil blushed, and Austin, who was sitting closest to Nico, rolled his eyes.

"Told you we should have done everything individually. You guys always get like this whenever we do anything," he grumbled, "I told you. I said, 'Remember last time?' but no, you just had to go and repeat the same exact mistakes!" 

"Fine, fine, let's actually do what we were planning on, and grill Nico." Kayla sounded apologetic, and Nico had to wonder what the "last time" referred to. 

"So, Nico, young man, what do you have to offer my son?" Lou Ellen asked, wearing an expression of polite detachment, somehow looking down her nose at Nico, despite being shorter (since she was sitting down) than him.

"Uh..." he wracked his brain for a suitable answer, "protection?"

"Pft," she stopped herself just short of snorting, though Nico couldn't see what was so funny, "hm. Good, good. Now, what about emotionally? How do I know that you won't hurt his heart?"

"Um, well. I- I'm not- I-"

He spluttered some more before Austin took pity on him and interrupted, "Lou, stop. Look, Nico, we know you pretty well by now. We know you're probably not going to cheat or hurt Will."

"Yeah," Cecil chimed in, "he's also been much happier ever since you started dating him. You should have heard his pining. Honestly, he kept _my_ cabin up until twelve, talking about you. He doesn't even live there! I'm pretty sure that I talk for all of us when I say that I'm glad that you guys finally got together."

Kayla added, "Frankly, I don't think that our threats will really do anything, since you seem pretty lovesick too. You guys are probably going to be one of those couples who tearily make up two seconds after you fight. Also, you have a soul-sucking sword, so I'm pretty sure we can't do anything to you."

"Basically, Nico," Lou Ellen said, "we're just saying that we think you and Will are very cute together. But if you hurt him, you'll just hurt yourself and us. That would be counterproductive, so don't do that, 'kay?" 

"Um. Okay?" 

"Great. Come on, Lou, you heard the man. Let's go. If we stay any longer, Connor is going to start the prank war without us." Cecil took Lou Ellen's hand in his, and they both left in a hurry, both of them sporting identical mischievous smiles. 

"Well, alright. That was fun. I have archery practice, so I'll be going now." Kayla waved and left.

"I have a great idea for a piece, so I'm also going to leave," Austin got up to leave, but paused at the door, "if you're looking for Will, he's in room two."

Nico said goodbye, and went in search of Will. 

He was, indeed, in room two, sleeping peacefully, chest rising and falling to the rhythm of his breathing. 

Nico watched him from the doorway, feeling something painfully pleasurable twist in his chest. 

Stepping close enough so that he could smell Will's scent of oranges, Nico vowed to himself.

 _Hurt you? I'd never._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Remember to leave comments and kudos!


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